World Wetlands Day marked on 2 February

Chisinau, 2 February /MOLDPRES/ - The World Wetlands Day is marked today, as a result of the adoption of the Ramsar Convention on 2 February 1971. Presently, 2,186 wetlands with protected habitat internationally are registered, of which three ones in Moldova.    

Moldova ratified the Convention in 2000and manages three Ramsar sites, with an overall area of about 95,000 hectares. It is about the sites, Lower Prut Lakes, Lower Dniester and Unguri-Holosnita. They are protected by the state, being in the records of specialists biologists. At the same time, the sites were included in diverse international projects of conservation and protection of biodiversity.   

In 2017, the Moldovan government approved a decision on the foundation of the first biosphere reserve, created in one of the biggest Ramsar sites of Europe, Lower Prut Lakes. The creation of the Reserve fits into the trilateral cross-border project, Romania-Ukraine-Moldova, Consolidation of the network of natural areas for the protection of biodiversity and sustainable development in the Danube Delta region and Lower Prut – Pan Nature. The project’s partner on behalf of Moldova is the Moldsilva Forestry Agency.

Sources from the Moldsilva Agency informed that ‘’the creation of the first biosphere Reserve in the Lower Prut meadow was backed by the European Union through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. ‘’The project’s implementation pursues the reduction of losses of biodiversity and improving the living standards of the residents from the concerned zone. At the same time, we are set to introduce an integrated approach of the management of natural resources in the cross-border zone of the Danube Delta and the Lower Prut one, strengthening the community’s involvement in the region,’’ the Moldsilva sources said.     

Presently, Moldsilva does its utmost to identify sources of financing and assistance on behalf of foreign donors, in order to ensure the continuity and sustainability of this project.

According to specialists, Ramsar sites in Moldova are of international importance for the process of birds’ migration. On the concerned periods, more than 20,000 water birds go through the Lower Prut alone; many of these birds belong to rare species. In all, the habitat of the Ramsar sites from Moldova is made up of over 300 species of mammalians, birds, reptiles and amphibians.   

The World Wetlands Day was established in the Iranian city of Ramsar on 2 February 1971. The executive committee of the Ramsar Convention holds meetings each year and establishes action plans meant to maintain the ecological character of these sites.    

Photo: Moldsilva